Serum

“Finally. Let’s see if we can’t get in and out before my mother comes and places me under house arrest.”

Pandora spoke while jumping out of the truck, stretching her limbs with a cute squeal. 

Dirk climbed out similarly, taking in the sights around him.

They were within the central plaza of the chained capital city of the Dark Kingdom. Now more than ever, Dirk could feel the dark mana flooding all corners of this city and keeping it afloat through gravitational repulsion. 

In fact, if he wanted, he felt like he could ride this repulsion and reduce his own weight, even though he had never used gravity magic before. 

Three weeks of pure magical study and immersion had done a lot for Dirk’s comprehension into all his elements. He had especially utilized the lightning crystal from the Lightning Dragon Uuvos, one that was filled with nothing but pure information on the lightning element. 

“So this is the Dark Kingdom. It’s an amazing place.”

Exos muttered as he emerged as well. This was a completely new land to him, not to mention it being the capital of another Empire. Like Dirk, he was overwhelmed by the sights and natural wonders. 

Pandora ignored him though. She seemed slightly hurried, and Dirk understood since she had just spent three weeks driving. They really couldn’t get to their destinations fast enough. 

Hopefully that would change soon though. Even Dirk was having a change of heart in regard to her plan at Horizon. 

‘Better than it sitting around. Besides, I’ve always had access to the best tech. Not exactly used to carting around slowly.’

He thought as they all entered the Spire at the center of the city. 

“Here.”

Suddenly, Pandora threw a ring at Dirk. Inside was a sheet of paper along with a large badge. 

“I need you to go to the treasury and grab everything on that list. The seal inside the ring will be enough to get you wherever you want. Ask the doormen to help you too. We need to move quickly.”

“Ok.”

“Meet me back in the plaza when you’re done. Exos, you come with me.”

With a wave, Pandora beckoned Exos along. He followed with curiosity, and Dirk branched off on his own. 

He walked down a few pathways, Spyte jumping out and guiding him in her cat form. 

Then, they arrived at a long hallway. From its entrance, Dirk could see a large set of doors at the end. 

He walked with measured steps, and as he did so, his Mana Sight was locked on the man beside the doors. 

He was an old man in basic robes who sat in a seat, his body slumped over and his hand resting on a spear beside him. That old man didn’t move at all, but Dirk’s neck felt tingly as he got closer. 

He knew something was up with this old man, but he wasn’t exactly interested in entertaining other people. He was eager to get to Horizon since he wanted to see his mother, and that meant he wanted to move just as quickly as Pandora. 

Dirk stopped in front of the doors, facing the old man who had yet to react to his presence. Last time, Dirk directly walked through these doors without so much as a word. In fact, last time there had been two other guards here, not this old man. 

Taking out the royal seal of the Dark Kingdom, Dirk waved it before the old man. 

“I’m here on Princess Pandora’s Authority.”

“...”

There was no response, making Dirk unsure of what to do. 

The old man didn’t so much as look up. Seeing the lack of response, Dirk let out a small sigh and stepped forward. 

“I’ll be entering.”

He said that while reaching out toward the doors. 

But right as he did, he could see the old man’s spear lower down, as if to block his entrance. 

Only, the spear moved fast. More than that, it carried with it an odd power that made it flicker in Dirk’s mana vision. 

The hairs on his neck stood on end, as if this spear were out for his head despite it not actually traveling toward his neck, only his outstretched hand. 

He could see it almost in slow motion. The spear’s end flickered through space, making it seem like a slideshow of images. 

And he reacted on instinct, not so much as needing to think before doing so. 

His wrist moved, his elbow bending at an angle parallel with the path of the spear. The lightning mana in his body sparked at the same time, causing his movements to be explosive, almost uncontrollably so. But it was only with that speed that he could move as he needed to. 

The shaft of the spear just below its blade collided with his forearm, deflecting and redirecting all the momentum away from his body. 

And using that impact, the rest of Dirk’s body spun around, his heel arcing toward the old man’s head. 

From Dirk’s heel came a spike of metal, lightning, and darkness. The darkness for the curse, the lightning for its speed, and the metal for its lethality. It was even laced with his Aura. 

But just before that spike could pierce through the old man’s head, he moved, and it landed just next to him. 

*CLING*

Everything froze as the blows were delivered, Dirk and the old man not making another move, but absolutely prepared to do so. 

Finally, the old man smiled, his squinted eyes looking toward Dirk from beside his foot.  

“Funny. Usually a warrior can sense on instinct whether someone has the intent to continue fighting. But I can’t sense that from you. I feel nothing, in fact. If anything, there’s only focus. You’re a curious young lad, hmm?”

“Not curious, just trying to grocery shop.”

“Heh, that’s one way to describe raiding the royal treasury.”

He chuckled before retreating. His movements were cautious, as if making sure to be predictable in case Dirk would mistake him for delivering another blow. 

Dirk also pulled away, a new hole in the wall clearly visible. 

“Jvahna won’t be pleased with the repair bill. Oh well.”

“Jvahna?”

“My daughter. Now tell me, who exactly does my granddaughter plan to destroy next?”

The old man spoke while standing and opening the treasury doors, allowing Dirk inside. 

He followed, realizing just who this man was and who he was talking about. 

“...She plans on securing some faster transportation.”

“Heh, I offered that to her a while ago. Unfortunately she doesn’t enjoy receiving gifts unless it's customary to. Apparently she abhors the idea of being in debt to someone. From the perspective of a politician, she does everything correct, almost too well. But I’m her grandfather! She can’t seem to separate family from politics, as if who we are and what we do are a weakness to her. Here.”

The old man plucked an item off a shelf, tossing it to Dirk. 

Dirk couldn’t help but frown a bit, realizing this was one of the items on the list he needed to get. 

The old man smiled, reading Dirk’s mind. 

“Look deep enough into the concepts of space, young man, and you can pluck valuables straight out of pocket rings.” 

Saying that, he waved around the list that used to be inside Dirk’s ring.

In front of that, Dirk could only sigh and follow along as he went and grabbed everything on the list. 

Some items were pens, some were odd devices, others were giant boxes of valuable mana crystals and beast skins. 

Anything in the treasury was valuable, and they really seemed to be raiding it with how many things on the list there were. 

And all the while, Pandora’s grandfather spoke. 

“I wish that girl would learn to rely on her family more. It’s like she thinks she’s all alone, fighting everyone from every angle as if everyone were scheming for her downfall. Unfortunately, she’s also concerningly good at what she does, so she can’t learn her lesson through failure.

“Well, I figured out a while ago that she got the best from both worlds. Her mother’s beauty and power alongside her father’s intelligence and elemental affinities. Such a perfect girl. I only wish she could actually learn to enjoy her time rather than spend it in the hateful world that is royal competition. Then again, I only learned to do that in my old age! Blaming her would be rather hypocritical.”

He scratched his head, and behind him, Dirk’s curiosity reached a tipping point.

He didn’t know much about Pandora’s family. She was only one child of the Queen. There were other princes and princesses. But Dirk hadn’t seen or heard about any of them. And he especially hadn’t heard about anything regarding what should be the Vampire King, the husband of the Queen and the father to all the royal children. 

Dirk felt that this grandfather was telling him all this for a reason, perhaps because Dirk was known to be close with Pandora for reasons nobody else could fathom. So he also felt that his next question wasn’t unwarranted. 

“Who is Pandora’s father?”

“A common man who became not so common through his wit and strength. He rose up from nothing across the span of nearly 200 years before establishing himself as one of the most powerful vampires to walk the world. Unfortunately he was also the most vicious. If you ever stop by the Hybrid Empire Unity, ask around about the City of Bobanar, the third largest city of that Empire. It’s now an uninhabitable zone ravaged by heinous blood mana and curses, but still a valuable training ground for any daring dark magi.”

“...Right.”

Dirk started to understand why this man wasn’t the Vampire King. Not because of power, but because of image. 

But that begged another question. 

“Where is he?”

“Who knows? He disappeared alongside Emperor Horizon a couple decades ago. And unlike the Emperor, he hasn’t re-emerged except in private to give my lovestruck daughter more children. Not that he would be openly welcome here. Regardless, most of the royal children have never met their father.”

“Mm.”

Dirk nodded, but he also felt weird about this gossip which was no doubt a tightly kept secret even among the nobility. Not that this made it shocking. Dirk was no stranger to deep dark secrets kept among very powerful people. 

Finally, the grandfather grabbed the last item. Dirk was glad that he didn’t have to dig around for everything, and also got to hear some juicy history. 

It seems Pandora was the black sheep of her family with how amazing she was. But it also seemed that, even though she already had it, her scheming mind was technically inherited from her father. 

And if the Vampire Queen was a love struck fool like her father said she was, then did Pandora inherit that too? Dirk sure felt like there was an inkling of obsessive romanticism that she carried considering how close she clung to him. 

It seemed that, although they came from a different world, their traits weren’t completely set in stone, and some were passed on by their parents. Or they were given parents that matched their traits. Perhaps a combination of both. 

“Here you go, lad.”

Dirk was handed the ring that now contained piles of valuable items. He nodded to the old man. 

“Thanks.”

“Sure thing. Just take care of my granddaughter. I don’t know what kind of history you two have, but just that fact alone testifies to its extraordinaire. She doesn’t seem to trust anyone other than you. I just hope you can come to reciprocate that. Throughout many years, I’ve come to know that despite her rather… delirious tendencies, she’s a good person. It just takes someone who is willing to dig beneath that shell and see it. Someone willing to give her the love she wants.”

Dirk could sense a hint of sorrow and melancholy within his words, and he didn’t take them lightly. Although he had known Pandora across two worlds, he wouldn’t dismiss the words of a man who had watched her grow up. Doing that would be like saying that his own mother didn’t know what kind of person he was, when she surely did after caring for him since he was a vulnerable child.

It seemed, like him, she really did change. At least, on the inside she did. Outwardly, she still occasionally reminded him of that psycho from Earth. 

“Now go on. Although Dark Kingdom ships are faster, Horizon surely wins out when it comes to traversing large distances, especially when there’s lots of cargo. Just make sure to get a pilot. And a maid. My granddaughter surely isn’t going to clean things herself. In fact, she should be bringing her personal maid… Oh well.”

Shrugging, he led the way back out of the treasury. 

The doors closed behind them, and they walked through the hallway before coming to junction where they would separate. 

Before doing so though, Dirk asked. 

“What’s your name?”

“My name is Qoiron Yvvennz Vanadis, former King of the Dark Kingdom and a bonafide Spear King. If you ever want to learn the spear, you can come to me. But I can already tell you’re not the type to wield such a high profile weapon. I’m sure you think it flamboyant, hmm?”

“Heh.”

Dirk smirked. He did indeed think it was a bit flamboyant. It was too extravagant for someone like him who preferred to be sleek and subtle. He was an assassin, not a general or king. 

Qoiron waved. 

“Go on now. My daughter can only be held up for so long. If she knew Pandora was here, she would probably place her under house arrest. So you better hurry. Oh, and do try to avoid my grandson at the entrance.”

“Alright. Thanks...”

“Call me gramps.”

“...I don’t know if I can.”

Dirk muttered before suddenly disappearing, shuttling through space and leaving the hall. 

Qoiron laughed, watching Dirk the whole way before vanishing himself. Unlike Dirk though, there wasn’t the slightest ripple, as if he simply vanished from existence. 

Dirk gawked at the sight. He hadn't detected the slightest hint of mana on that man, but it seemed that didn't stop him

Using Stealth and Void Walking, Dirk  made his way through the Spire before going for the exit. 

There, though, stood a young man. He was tall with dark purple hair, similar to Pandora’s. On his back was a spear, and he stood around with wary eyes, looking for something. 

Dirk waited at a distance for a while. And not long later, he spotted Pandora walking out with Exos. 

She seemed surprised when she spotted the young man, but still walked forward as if she didn’t care. 

Leaving the Spire, she spoke. 

“Kerron, what do you want?”

“Not you. I’m looking for your boyfriend.”

“Well, he’s been nearby for a while now. Seems you need to work on your sensory skills, because he would’ve long had your head.”

“Bullshit.”

“Heh, dumbass.”

She snickered and moved on, retrieving the truck from her ring. 

“Come on, Dirk. You unfortunately can’t hide from me, so stop trying to put your cat on my head.”

“Eh, no fun.”

Dirk suddenly appeared, Spyte in his hands and held over Pandora’s head. 

The cat looked resigned with her paws dangling and about to dig into Pandora’s purple hair.

[Not like I want to touch you either, but I’m merely a toy for my master to use as he pleases.]

“Stop making it sound so weird.”

Dirk shook his head and slung the cat over his shoulders, boarding the truck with the others. 

And while they drove away, Kerron, the second prince of the Dark Kingdom, stood there with bulging eyes and clenched teeth.